Offi cials announce the new polling locations inside Barclays Center.
Photo by Ben Verde
COURIER LIFE, SEPT. 4–10, 2020 15
BY BEN VERDE
Barclays Center will
open its doors as a polling
location for the 2020 presidential
election, according
to officials.
“By having these additional
spaces that we can
practice social distancing,
we will ensure that we have
a fair election season,” said
Borough President Eric Adams
at a Sep. 1 press conference
outside the arena.
The announcement comes
as NBA players — who are
currently playing playoff
games in a “bubble” in Orlando
— have used their
platform to push for reforms
around voting, policing, and
social justice.
The issue boiled over
last week, when a cadre of
players staged a strike after
Wisconsin police officers
shot 29-year-old Black
man Jacob Blake in the
back multiple times while
his three children looked
on. After a two-day postponement,
the athletes resumed
the season, but have
increased their vocal support
of causes like the Black
Lives Matter movement and
voting rights.
Now, as the COVID-19
pandemic has thrown the
electoral process into flux
— with less polling locations
and the Trump administration’s
push to hamper
voting by mail — the players
have pressured arena
owners to use vacant stadiums
as places for citizens to
cast their ballots, said the
Beep.
“The NBA players — we
need to acknowledge what
they are doing,” he said.
“They are using this opportunity
to say part of any
agreement to keep moving
forward in sports is to ensure
that we allow access
to voting. The power of the
vote can not be over or underemphasized.”
Barclays Center — which
has been the site of many
protests since the police
killing of George Floyd in
Minnesota — will open for
early voting between Oct. 24
and Nov. 1, as well as Election
Day on Nov. 3.
Local elected officials
encouraged Brooklynites
to make use of the space for
early voting, which very few
New Yorkers did during the
last general election in November
2019.
“If we say that Black
Lives Matter, the way we
truly exercise that belief
is by coming here to make
sure that you vote,” said
Councilwoman Laurie
Cumbo, whose district encompasses
the arena. “The
same way people come out
to see Beyonce, Justin Bieber,
Jay-Z, the same way
droves of people come out
of that train station to come
to a concert here is what we
need to see.”
Barclays Center is the
second New York City arena
after Madison Square Garden
in Manhattan to announce
it will become a poll
site. BSE Global, the company
that manages the Fort
Greene arena, said it will
encourage its employees to
volunteer as poll workers.
“We are proud to be a
part of the incredible effort
that many NBA arenas
have shown to ensure that
people exercise their voting
power,” said BSE Global
CEO John Abbamondi.
Register to vote at www.
vote.nyc
Courting voters
Barclays Center to serve as poll site for 2020 election
/www.vote.nyc
/www.vote.nyc